“Those two are cousins,” Kadin murmured as they bickered. “But you’d think they were brothers the way they argue.”
Normally they would’ve had my full attention, and the quiet boy seated in the corner would’ve gone unnoticed, but his thoughts were louder than all of the conversation combined.She’s so pretty. I wonder if she’s older than me? I wonder if she likes Kadin? She probably likes Kadin...
I ducked my head, focusing on my bowl instead of the boy. He looked younger than the others, tall and gaunt with gangly arms and legs, like he’d missed a lot of meals growing up or had just recently grown a foot. The dark fuzz on his upper lip grew in patches.
As they settled in to eat, they talked less, and I inhaled my food. I found myself grateful that men could only think about one thing at a time. Focused on the food—or in Illium’s case, the strange little object he was carving—the quiet allowed me to finish my own meal in peace.
With the warm food in my belly, I started feeling sleepy.
“More?” Kadin asked, taking the bowl from my hands. I nodded, embarrassed but still hungry.
He scooped another helping, handing it to me before he sat back down.
The light from the window reflected the gold flecks in his brown eyes and distracted me until he spoke to the others, “Arie here tells me she’s an expert in the Jinn.”
Their thoughts assaulted me all at once and I couldn’t even separate them in the jumble.
Ryo winked at me. “That true, gorgeous?”
“It is,” I managed a weak smile. “I’m trained in hunting the Jinn.”
“Says she’d be a good addition to our team,” Kadin added, and then took a bite. It seemed that was as much introduction as I would be given.
“The question is, why are you all looking for a Jinni?” I asked. Did they want some extra help to steal something? Or did they want to steal somethingfroma Jinni?
Illium blew the wood shavings from his lap in the silence.
The others watched him, none of them replying. Bits and pieces of their thoughts flooded my mind.Why does she want to know...how does... can we trust... she telling the truth?
It was overwhelming. I pressed a hand to my forehead, rubbing my temples. I didn’t know if I’d ever learn to pick a thought out of a group when they all coincided like this.
Hopefully, if this went according to plan, I’d never have to.
I cleared my throat and added, “You know what, it’s none of my business. All I need to know is if you want my help.”
“We definitely need your help,” Bosh said, licking his finger as he spoke. “We haven’t hadanyluck—” he cut off as Kadin lifted a few subtle fingers. “Um... today that is...” he faltered, trying to recover.
Kadin sighed and shook his head.
I bit the inside of my lip to keep from smiling.
Naveed set down his bowl to sign something. Kadin didn’t translate, but I overheard,How did she know?
“That’s what I want to know too.” Kadin replied, still not bothering to interpret for me. He signed something further.She has secrets. Don’t know what they are yet.
You have such a soft spot for the unfortunate souls,Naveed signed back, shaking his head at Kadin with a small smile. At first I thought my Gift was growing and expanding to all thoughts, until I realized Naveed meant me.
I schooled my face not to react, scooping up the last kernels of rice until my bowl was clean. Kadin wasn’t as convinced as I’d hoped.
He finally spoke, “I figure we can hear her out. See what she knows. What do you all think?”
Illium shrugged, turning over the wood to scrape away at a new place, speaking for the first time. “Whatever it takes.” His deep baritone voice surprised me. It was soothing and melodic, with the cadence of a natural speaker.
Kadin nodded. “That’s a yes from Illium,” he said to me as Naveed signed something. “And from Naveed as well.”
Ryo spoke with his mouthful. “I vote yes.”
Daichi lifted his spoon in agreement.
